Twenty Three Seconds
by Lilchamor
Summary: Twenty three seconds is nothing. Unless your life is about to end. The bridge scene from TJM.
1. Chapter 1: Helga

Summary: Twenty three seconds is nothing. Unless your life is about to end. This is a moment-in-time two-shot about the bridge scene between Arnold and Helga in TJM.

The first chapter is Helga's point of view. The second will be Arnold's.

Disclaimer: Don't own Hey Arnold!, wish I did, yada yada….

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"Try harder!" I shout, frustration exploding in my chest.

My breath comes in quick, heavy spurts. The ropes beneath us groan under our weight. With everything I have left in me, I grip Gerald's neck harder, as if my own arm strength will somehow help Arnold pull us up...

"Whoa!"

Arnold tumbles over the side of the cliff and catches himself on the bridge.

A part of me draws in breath to scream. Another part of me remembers that a scream will waste precious energy.

Arnold rights himself up and looks at me. I grit my teeth and open my mouth to say…

 _Crash!_ My legs and feet suddenly touch bare air as the ropes break.

Logic abandons me as I scream. My feet dangle wildly. _Nothing nothing, there's nothing to touch…_

I look down to see the bridge tumbling into the foggy abyss below.

My face freezes. The sound of our screams fade into silence.

No. No, no. No no no no no. Criminy. It can't. It can't. It can't.

 _That was...that was our...last chance…_

Maybe we can climb back up, maybe we can hold on, maybe someone will...someone...maybe…maybe...maybe…

My arms start to shake.

Oh, no.

 _...no, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO….PLEASE...PLEASE, OH PLEASE…_

I CAN'T DIE HERE. Not here, not in this stupid jungle. Not with so many precious years left in me. Not with my body still vibrant, my chest still rising, my heart pounding in my ears. NOT THIS WAY.

 _Oh please...no…God, fate, someone..._

Please….please….

This….is it. This is it.

Panic fades to acceptance.

I hope it will be quick. I hope it won't hurt too much.

Then, sadness.

I turn to My Love. He meets my eyes. His facial expressions are a half step behind mine. Fear, panic, then…

I briefly close my eyes. Gerald's neck smells of pomade and swampy jungle air. His arms tremble and his body shakes. I should have been kinder to him, My Love's best friend…

I open my eyes, feeling a stifled sob rise in my chest. But I make no sound. My vision blurs as I stare into My Love's eyes.

At least this shall be the last thing I see in my life.

My heartbeat reverberates in my ears. _Thumpthump thumpthump thumpthump…_ It forms a song, a song my eyes sing to Arnold… _Loveyou Loveyou Loveyou…_

And his eyes say back, _I'msorry, I'msorry, I'msorry…_ Tears dance in those beautiful green orbs.

If there's one comfort, it's that we'll perish at the same time. Neither one of us will ever have to live without the other.

 _Loveyou...loveyou...loveyou…_

My sweet, angel darling. My optimistic cherub, I'm not angry at you anymore. I don't know if I ever really was. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm sorry that I tripped you. I'm sorry that I threw the journal at your face, over and over again. I knew not how to handle my hurt. I was weak, my heart too delicate. Forgive me, Love.

There was so much left for us.

There was so much left.

 _And as you look at me, I know you feel it too._

Suddenly, a rope drops between us...a rope?

"Come on up, mijos!"

We're saved?

Relief sags my body.

 _Criminy._


	2. Chapter 2: Arnold

I've got a pretty firm grip on Gerald's arm, and I'm pulling...trying...trying...but it's not enough. _Not enough, come on!_

"Try harder!" Helga yells. I bite my lip in annoyance. What does she think I'm doing?

My chest thumps, and I strain a little more...a little...just a little...

Before I know what's happening, my knees slide forward. I scream. The world around me flips, and I'm going down, down toward the foggy, cold bottom...

I grasp wildly as I fall. My hands burn as they suddenly catch on the rope. I swing slightly as my feet find the wooden boards of the bridge, and I pull myself into a standing position.

Catching my breath, I turn to look at Gerald and Helga. Now we're _all_ stuck down here.

 _Now what do we…_

 _Crash!_ I feel my body suddenly jerk as the boards beneath us break.

We scream. _No!_

Time slows down. I open my eyes and watch the boards fall, fall, fifteen feet, twenty feet, thirty, fifty, then they're gone beneath the fog. I imagine them falling even further, hundreds and hundreds of feet, smashing onto jagged rocks next to La Sombra's bloodied, fractured head. Or maybe falling soundlessly into a calm bed of water, where La Sombra would be floating, lifeless, mouth open in a silent scream…

My stomach lurches. I look up at my friends…

Helga's face.

I feel like a knife's been plunged through my chest.

She knows.

 _No. No._

My mind goes blank. This isn't happening.

Except, it is.

Helga's face. Sadness. The deepest, softest, most vulnerable kind. I see it on her face, and I feel it too. And…

Regret.

Helga closes her eyes for a half second, leans up against Gerald's neck.

Regret. Regret. I taste it in my mouth suddenly, acidic and bitter. This whole trip has been about me. _My_ dreams. _My_ hopes of finding Mom and Dad. For the last year, ever since I found Dad's journal, that's all I could think about.

Helga gently opens her eyes. Blue. She has high cheekbones. A large nose. The unibrow, of course.

Have I ever really looked at her? Have I ever really looked at anyone I loved? Grandpa, Grandma? The boarders? Ernie, Mr. Hyunh, Mr. Kokoshka, what color are their eyes? Have I ever really noticed?

I've been so preoccupied lately. The map. The Green Eyes. Their plane. I've stayed up so many nights over the past year, charting, analyzing.

Why? For what? Their plane probably crashed ten years ago. I don't remember them, don't even know them. I have people right here who love me, who need me, who have always needed me, and I let them all down. All my friends. Mr. Simmons. The Green Eyes. My family. Gerald.

And…

My throat burns and my eyes fill.

And...the one looking back at me right now. How much does she need me? How much has she always needed me? How many times have I let her down?

 _Helga, I...I can't..I can't believe this is happening._

I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.

 _Swish!_ A rope drops down and almost hits me in the face.

"Come on up, mijos!"

I squint up, seeing a human-shaped shadow blocking the sun.

Rescue!

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Author's note: Whew! It is NOT easy to write the exact same scene from two different points of view.

I'm still in shock, guys. The reality of TJM being made has honestly given me hope that impossible things can happen. Onward to Season 6! 3 3

-Lilchamor (Lily)


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